“I always wear the locket,” Anna said. “I keep it hidden under my uniform.”
“I’m glad,” Norbie said. “Yourmutterwould have loved seeing you wear it.”
Anna nodded.
Norbie ate a forkful of food. “I never knew potato peels could taste so good.”
She smiled, feeling thankful for hervater’s efforts to lift her spirits.
“What do you plan to do with your free day?” he asked.
“I have clothes to mend, and I need to pick up our rations.”
“Nonsense,” Norbie said. “You haven’t had a day off in weeks. The weather is beautiful. You could take a book and spend the day in the park.”
Anna took a bite of potato.
“Or perhaps you could pay a visit to the guide dog school,” Norbie said.
“Another time,” Anna said, putting down her fork. “I have much to do here.”
Weeks ago, Dr. Stalling gained approval from the government to open the world’s first guide dog training school. According to the newspaper, the town of Oldenburg was selected because it already housed the headquarters for the German Red Cross Ambulance Dogs Association, but Anna believed it had much to do with Stalling’s influence, as well as his desire to help blind veterans. The opening of the school, which was to take place in a few weeks, was often a topic of Anna and Norbie’s meal conversations. He’d encouraged her to talk to Dr. Stalling about serving as a volunteer or, even better, getting a job at the school. Although she desired to be part of something that could have a long-lasting impact on a veteran’s life, she’d dismissed Norbie’s suggestion on the basis that she knew nothing about training canines.
“The mending can wait,” Norbie insisted. “I’ll pick up the rations.”
“The lines are long, and you have clocks to repair,” Anna said.
“Fixing timepieces can wait.” Norbie pushed away his plate. “I know that you want to be part of what is happening at the school. What’s holding you back from talking with Dr. Stalling?”
Anna shifted in her seat. “I’m not qualified, and I’m quite sure that all of the trainers are men. It’s unlikely they’d require someone like me on their staff.”
“Maybe a nurse is exactly what they need,” Norbie said. “I thought the purpose of a guide dog was to care for the battle-blinded men. In a way, aren’t the dogs serving as nurses?”
She hadn’t thought of it that way, but Norbie’s words resonated with her. “I suppose you’re right. But even if I were permitted to volunteer, we can’t live without my one-mark-per-day salary, even though I’m only paid every three months.”
“We’ll find a way to survive,” Norbie said. “What harm can come from talking with Stalling?”
Anna wiggled her toes inside her shoes as she attempted to think of a rebuttal. “Most of the hospital staff, including Dr. Stalling, must know that I’m one of the least technically competent nurses. When the war is over, I’ll likely be let go.”
“You’re as good as they are.” Norbie clasped her hand. “Harbor your heart.”
Harbor your heart,Anna thought. It was the affirmation that Norbie seldom spoke, but in times when Anna needed it most. It was his way to symbolize how one can protect their heart in the worst of emotional storms. He’d first spoken the affirmation when he gave Anna hermutter’s silver locket, soon after hermutter’s death. She’d visualized placing her heart inside the locket to protect it from the wretched sorrow swelling in her chest. And now, when Anna had horrid days at the hospital, he used the phrase to provide comfort. Norbie’s affirmation was, and always would be, his mantra to protect and encourage his daughter.
Anna squeezed his fingers. “Okay, I’ll talk to Dr. Stalling. But when I come home, I want us to drop the subject of me training dogs.”
Norbie grinned. “Of course.”
* * *
After a thirty-five-minute walk to the outskirts of Oldenburg, Anna arrived at the Schützenhof, a large property with towering pine, poplar, and beech trees. The grounds were recently acquired for the purpose of housing the guide dog school by the Grand Duke of Oldenburg. In a clearing was a long, barnlike structure with white siding and a wood shingle roof.
Her disquietude mushroomed as she approached the building. She clasped her purse, which contained a lunch of black bread and sliced, raw potato that Norbie had insisted on packing for her. An authoritative, male voice, tending to make one think of a military drill instructor, shouted from behind the building. Her skin prickled.I came too far to turn around now.She buried her angst and followed a stone path, which led her to the source of the noise.
Three trainers, wearing light gray uniforms, walked over an obstacle course with German shepherds. Black bandages covered the men’s eyes, simulating blindness. In one hand, each trainer held a wooden cane. The opposite hand clasped a rigid handle, which was attached to the harness of a shepherd. Together, the trainer and dog traveled around the course, littered with stationary obstructions: puddles, rocks, felled limbs, wooden barrels, and mock curbs. Walking against the flow of traffic was a supervisor, holding a clipboard, who appeared to be serving as a pedestrian obstruction.
Anna’s eyes locked on a shepherd, guiding a blindfolded trainer around a series of logs. She smiled.Vater is right—a dog can be like a nurse.
“Hallo, Fräulein Zeller,” a familiar voice said.
